Entering his third season as part of the Rams’ coaching
staff, Jeff Palumbo’s impact on the Black & Gold has been
immediate.

After spending three seasons at the University of Central
Florida, Palumbo joined VCU to focus primarily on fielding and
hitting instruction, as well as the staff’s recruiting
coordinator.

In Palumbo’s two years with the Rams, the squad has posted
a .978 fielding percentage, including an Atlantic-10 leading .980
in 2013. VCU’s .980 fielding percentage ranked seventh in the
country.

The Black & Gold have earned 62 wins over the past two
seasons with Palumbo on the sideline.

In 2011, Palumbo helped guide UCF to a 39-23 record – its
best since 2005 – and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament
in seven years with a No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional.
The Knights also posted their best Conference USA finish (fourth)
since joining the league in 2006.

Regarded as one of the top fielding coaches in the country,
Palumbo's 2011 UCF squad shattered the school's single-season
record with a .978 fielding percentage, committing only 53 errors
in 62 games. Behind strong defense, including a stretch of
eight-straight games without recording an error, the Knights posted
two wins each over Florida, Stetson and Rice, in addition to
victories against Florida State and Alabama.

Palumbo has been outstanding on the recruiting trail during his
time as an assistant coach. Under the direction of first-year
skipper Terry Rooney in 2009, Palumbo and the Knights put together
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper 's fourth-ranked recruiting
class and followed with the nation's 20th-best class
heading into the 2011 season. Those rankings were the
highest-ever in program history.

The staff's recruiting efforts quickly paid off as the 2010
squad won 33 games despite being the only team in the country to
have five freshmen make at least 35 starts, including three
infielders. That same season, Palumbo's infield turned a
school-record 61 double plays, ranking among the nation's top 10 in
that category. Not only did the Knights possess solid
defense, but they also turned heads at the plate setting school and
Conference USA marks with a .343 batting average and .435 on-base
percentage. Further, UCF set program records with 78 homers
and a .538 slugging percentage.

During his time with the Knights, Palumbo coached two Louisville
Slugger All-Americans, a Golden Spikes Award finalist, a pair of
Freshman All-Americans, a Conference USA Freshman of the Year and
two first team all-conference honorees.

A native of Bowie, Md., Palumbo is no stranger to the Colonial
Athletic Association having played at George Mason from 2001-04
before serving as an assistant coach with the Patriots from
2006-08.

He spent three seasons as the program's recruiting coordinator
and hitting coach, and oversaw a defense that finished with a .970
fielding percentage – second in the league – during his
final season in 2008, while posting a third-place conference
finish, a .311 team batting average and 63 home runs.

During his time at George Mason, Palumbo helped guide four
players into the professional ranks including three-time
all-conference honoree and ABCA All-East Region selection Scott
Krieger, as well as Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Justin
Bour.

A two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Palumbo finished
his career as the Patriots all-time leader in hits (283), at-bats
(865), games played (218) and games started (217), while ranking
among the top 10 in runs, stolen bases, total bases, RBI and
walks. During his senior campaign, he led the nation in runs
scored per game (1.4), hit a career-best .402 and led the Patriots
to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament – the program's
first appearance since 1993. Palumbo was selected in
the15th-round round by the San Francisco Giants in the 2004 MLB
Amateur Draft and was later named a Northwest League All-Star with
the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.

Palumbo was part of the CAA's Silver Anniversary team in
2010.

He currently resides in Richmond with his wife, Sarah, and son,
Grayson.